scholarly journals Identification of Novel Phage Resistance Mechanisms in Campylobacter jejuni by Comparative Genomics

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Martine C. H. Sørensen ◽  
Yilmaz Emre Gencay ◽  
Florian Fanger ◽  
Mariana A. T. Chichkova ◽  
Mária Mazúrová ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Comparative Genomics ◽  
Campylobacter Jejuni ◽  
Natural Habitat ◽  
Intervention Strategy ◽  
Resistance Mechanism ◽  
Sequence Divergence ◽  
Resistance Mechanisms ◽  
Phage Resistance ◽  
Phase Variable ◽  
Phage Sensitivity

Phages infecting Campylobacter jejuni are considered a promising intervention strategy at broiler farms, yet phage sensitivity of naturally occurring poultry isolates is not well studied. Here, we investigated phage sensitivity and identified resistance mechanisms of C. jejuni strains originating from Danish broilers belonging to the most prevalent MLST (ST) types. Determining plaque formation of 51 phages belonging to Fletchervirus or Firehammervirus showed that 21 out of 31 C. jejuni strains were susceptible to at least one phage. While C. jejuni ST-21 strains encoded the common phase variable O-methyl phosphoramidate (MeOPN) receptor of the Fletchervirus and were only infected by these phages, ST-45 strains did not encode this receptor and were exclusively infected by Firehammervirus phages. To identify internal phage resistance mechanism in ST-21 strains, we performed comparative genomics of two strains, CAMSA2002 sensitive to almost all Fletchervirus phages and CAMSA2038, resistant to all 51 phages. The strains encoded diverse clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats (CRISPR) spacers but none matched the tested phages. Sequence divergence was also observed in a predicted SspE homolog and putative restriction modification systems including a methyl-specific McrBC endonuclease. Furthermore, when mcrB was deleted, CAMSA2038 became sensitive to 17 out of 43 phages, three being Firehammervirus phages that otherwise did not infect any ST-21 strains. Yet, 16 phages demonstrated significantly lower efficiencies of plating on the mcrB mutant suggesting additional resistance mechanism still restricting phage propagation in CAMSA2038. Thus, our work demonstrates that C. jejuni isolates originating from broilers may have acquired several resistance mechanisms to successfully prevent phage infection in their natural habitat.

Analysis of phage resistance mechanisms encoded by lactococcal plasmid pAJ2074

1993 ◽  
Vol 39 (2) ◽  
pp. 252-258 ◽  
Author(s):  
Audrey W. Jarvis
Keyword(s):  
Dna Replication ◽  
Burst Size ◽  
Resistance Mechanisms ◽  
Major Effect ◽  
Phage Resistance ◽  
Bacterial Cells ◽  
Dna Homology ◽  
Modification System ◽  
Phage Dna ◽  
Phage Sensitivity

Lactococcal plasmid pAJ2074 is a 74-kb plasmid that confers phage resistance at 30 °C against all lactococcal phages with prolate heads (referred to as prolate phage), and most small lactococcal phages with isometric heads (referred to as small isometric phage) that have been tested. The presence of pAJ2074 had no effect on phage adsorption or injection of phage DNA. Replication of prolate phage c2 DNA could not be detected in bacterial cells containing the plasmid up to 60 min after phage infection, whereas phage c2 DNA replication could be demonstrated at 20 min in the control strain. With pAJ2074 present there was no detectable growth of phage c2 and an 87% reduction in burst size for the small isometric phage sk1. Infective centres were reduced in the presence of pAJ2074 by 99% for phage c2 and by 93% for phage sk1. Plasmid pAJ2074 differed from pTR2030, in that the major effect of pAJ2074 was on prolate phage c2, rather than on the small isometric phage sk1, and no restriction and modification system could be detected. In addition, no DNA homology was detected between pAJ2074 and pTRK67 (derived from pTR2030). A recombinant plasmid pAJ88 containing an 8.4-kb insert from pAJ2074 conferred an intermediate level of phage resistance. The DNA region that encoded reduced phage sensitivity was further defined by the subcloning of a 5.6-kb EcoRV fragment that conferred resistance similar to pAJ88. The possibility of two phage-resistance mechanisms being encoded by pAJ2074 is discussed.Key words: phage resistance, lactococcal phages, lactococcal plasmids, lactococci.

scholarly journals Phage Resistance Mechanisms Increase Colistin Sensitivity in Acinetobacter baumannii

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Xiaoqing Wang ◽  
Belinda Loh ◽  
Yunsong Yu ◽  
Xiaoting Hua ◽  
Sebastian Leptihn
Keyword(s):  
Bacterial Infections ◽  
Bacterial Resistance ◽  
Phage Therapy ◽  
Resistance Mechanism ◽  
Multidrug Resistant ◽  
Resistance Mechanisms ◽  
Resistant Bacteria ◽  
Phage Resistance ◽  
Colistin Resistance ◽  
Increased Sensitivity

Few emergency-use antibiotics remain for the treatment of multidrug-resistant bacterial infections. Infections with resistant bacteria are becoming increasingly common. Phage therapy has reemerged as a promising strategy to treat such infections, as microbial viruses are not affected by bacterial resistance to antimicrobial compounds. However, phage therapy is impeded by rapid emergence of phage-resistant bacteria during therapy. In this work, we studied phage-resistance of colistin sensitive and resistant A. baumannii strains. Using whole genome sequencing, we determined that phage resistant strains displayed mutations in genes that alter the architecture of the bacterial envelope. In contrast to previous studies where phage-escape mutants showed decreased binding of phages to the bacterial envelope, we obtained several not uninfectable isolates that allowed similar phage adsorption compared to the susceptible strain. When phage-resistant bacteria emerged in the absence of antibiotics, we observed that the colistin resistance levels often decreased, while the antibiotic resistance mechanism per se remained unaltered. In particular the two mutated genes that conveyed phage resistance, a putative amylovoran- biosynthesis and a lipo-oligosaccharide (LOS) biosynthesis gene, impact colistin resistance as the mutations increased sensitivity to the antibiotic.

Survey on the phage resistance mechanisms displayed by a dairy Lactobacillus helveticus strain

2017 ◽  
Vol 66 ◽  
pp. 110-116 ◽  
Author(s):  
Miriam Zago ◽  
Luigi Orrù ◽  
Lia Rossetti ◽  
Antonella Lamontanara ◽  
Maria Emanuela Fornasari ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Resistance Mechanisms ◽  
Lactobacillus Helveticus ◽  
Phage Resistance

scholarly journals Characterization of resistance mechanisms of Enterobacter cloacae Complex co-resistant to carbapenem and colistin

2021 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Shixing Liu ◽  
Renchi Fang ◽  
Ying Zhang ◽  
Lijiang Chen ◽  
Na Huang ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Lipid A ◽  
Efflux Pump ◽  
Resistance Mechanism ◽  
Carbapenem Resistance ◽  
Enterobacter Cloacae ◽  
Resistance Mechanisms ◽  
Colistin Resistance ◽  
Carbapenem Resistant ◽  
Horizontal Spread

Abstract Background The emergence of carbapenem-resistant and colistin-resistant ECC pose a huge challenge to infection control. The purpose of this study was to clarify the mechanism of the carbapenems and colistin co-resistance in Enterobacter cloacae Complex (ECC) strains. Results This study showed that the mechanisms of carbapenem resistance in this study are: 1. Generating carbapenemase (7 of 19); 2. The production of AmpC or ESBLs combined with decreased expression of out membrane protein (12 of 19). hsp60 sequence analysis suggested 10 of 19 the strains belong to colistin hetero-resistant clusters and the mechanism of colistin resistance is increasing expression of acrA in the efflux pump AcrAB-TolC alone (18 of 19) or accompanied by a decrease of affinity between colistin and outer membrane caused by the modification of lipid A (14 of 19). Moreover, an ECC strain co-harboring plasmid-mediated mcr-4.3 and blaNDM-1 has been found. Conclusions This study suggested that there is no overlap between the resistance mechanism of co-resistant ECC strains to carbapenem and colistin. However, the emergence of strain co-harboring plasmid-mediated resistance genes indicated that ECC is a potential carrier for the horizontal spread of carbapenems and colistin resistance.

The Effect of Mismatch Repair and Heteroduplex Formation on Sexual Isolation in Bacillus

Genetics ◽  
1998 ◽  
Vol 148 (1) ◽  
pp. 13-18 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jacek Majewski ◽  
Frederick M Cohan
Keyword(s):  
Mismatch Repair ◽  
Wild Type Strain ◽  
Resistance Mechanism ◽  
Sequence Divergence ◽  
Sexual Isolation ◽  
Wild Type ◽  
Exponential Relationship ◽  
Dna Strands ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Heteroduplex Formation

AbstractIn Bacillus transformation, sexual isolation is known to be an exponential function of the sequence divergence between donor and recipient. Here, we have investigated the mechanism under which sequence divergence results in sexual isolation. We tested the effect of mismatch repair by comparing a wild-type strain and an isogenic mismatch-repair mutant for the relationship between sexual isolation and sequence divergence. Mismatch repair was shown to contribute to sexual isolation but was responsible for only a small fraction of the sexual isolation observed. Another possible mechanism of sexual isolation is that more divergent recipient and donor DNA strands have greater difficulty forming a heteroduplex because a region of perfect identity between donor and recipient is required for initiation of the heteroduplex. A mathematical model showed that this heteroduplex-resistance mechanism yields an exponential relationship between sexual isolation and sequence divergence. Moreover, this model yields an estimate of the size of the region of perfect identity that is comparable to independent estimates for Escherichia coli. For these reasons, and because all other mechanisms of sexual isolation may be ruled out, we conclude that resistance to heteroduplex formation is predominantly responsible for the exponential relationship between sexual isolation and sequence divergence in Bacillus transformation.

scholarly journals Black Queen Evolution and Trophic Interactions Determine Plasmid Survival after the Disruption of the Conjugation Network

mSystems ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 3 (5) ◽  
Author(s):  
Johannes Cairns ◽  
Katariina Koskinen ◽  
Reetta Penttinen ◽  
Tommi Patinen ◽  
Anna Hartikainen ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Antibiotic Resistance ◽  
Bacterial Communities ◽  
Resistance Mechanism ◽  
Real Life ◽  
Ecological Factors ◽  
Mobile Genetic Elements ◽  
Resistance Mechanisms ◽  
Antibiotics Resistance ◽  
Bacterial Populations ◽  
Genetic Elements

ABSTRACTMobile genetic elements such as conjugative plasmids are responsible for antibiotic resistance phenotypes in many bacterial pathogens. The ability to conjugate, the presence of antibiotics, and ecological interactions all have a notable role in the persistence of plasmids in bacterial populations. Here, we set out to investigate the contribution of these factors when the conjugation network was disturbed by a plasmid-dependent bacteriophage. Phage alone effectively caused the population to lose plasmids, thus rendering them susceptible to antibiotics. Leakiness of the antibiotic resistance mechanism allowing Black Queen evolution (i.e. a “race to the bottom”) was a more significant factor than the antibiotic concentration (lethal vs sublethal) in determining plasmid prevalence. Interestingly, plasmid loss was also prevented by protozoan predation. These results show that outcomes of attempts to resensitize bacterial communities by disrupting the conjugation network are highly dependent on ecological factors and resistance mechanisms.IMPORTANCEBacterial antibiotic resistance is often a part of mobile genetic elements that move from one bacterium to another. By interfering with the horizontal movement and the maintenance of these elements, it is possible to remove the resistance from the population. Here, we show that a so-called plasmid-dependent bacteriophage causes the initially resistant bacterial population to become susceptible to antibiotics. However, this effect is efficiently countered when the system also contains a predator that feeds on bacteria. Moreover, when the environment contains antibiotics, the survival of resistance is dependent on the resistance mechanism. When bacteria can help their contemporaries to degrade antibiotics, resistance is maintained by only a fraction of the community. On the other hand, when bacteria cannot help others, then all bacteria remain resistant. The concentration of the antibiotic played a less notable role than the antibiotic used. This report shows that the survival of antibiotic resistance in bacterial communities represents a complex process where many factors present in real-life systems define whether or not resistance is actually lost.

scholarly journals A Cotransformation Method To Identify a Restriction-Modification Enzyme That Reduces Conjugation Efficiency inCampylobacter jejuni

2018 ◽  
Vol 84 (23) ◽  
Author(s):  
Ximin Zeng ◽  
Zuowei Wu ◽  
Qijing Zhang ◽  
Jun Lin
Keyword(s):  
Comparative Genomics ◽  
Heat Shock ◽  
Gene Transfer ◽  
Horizontal Gene Transfer ◽  
Campylobacter Jejuni ◽  
Selection Marker ◽  
Sequencing Analysis ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Restriction Modification ◽  
Modification Enzyme

ABSTRACTConjugation is an important mechanism for horizontal gene transfer inCampylobacter jejuni, the leading cause of human bacterial gastroenteritis in developed countries. However, to date, the factors that significantly influence conjugation efficiency inCampylobacterspp. are still largely unknown. Given that multiple recombinant loci could independently occur within one recipient cell during natural transformation, the genetic materials from a high-frequency conjugation (HFC)C. jejunistrain may be cotransformed with a selection marker into a low-frequency conjugation (LFC) recipient strain, creating new HFC transformants suitable for the identification of conjugation factors using a comparative genomics approach. To test this, an erythromycin resistance selection marker was created in an HFCC. jejunistrain; subsequently, the DNA of this strain was naturally transformed into NCTC 11168, an LFCC. jejunistrain, leading to the isolation of NCTC 11168-derived HFC transformants. Whole-genome sequencing analysis and subsequent site-directed mutagenesis identified Cj1051c, a putative restriction-modification enzyme (akaCjeI) that could drastically reduce the conjugation efficiency of NCTC 11168 (>5,000-fold). Chromosomal complementation of three diverse HFCC. jejunistrains with CjeI also led to a dramatic reduction in conjugation efficiency (∼1,000-fold). The purified recombinant CjeI could effectively digest theEscherichia coli-derived shuttle vector pRY107. The endonuclease activity of CjeI was abolished upon short heat shock treatment at 50°C, which is consistent with our previous observation that heat shock enhanced conjugation efficiency inC. jejuni. Together, in this study, we successfully developed and utilized a unique cotransformation strategy to identify a restriction-modification enzyme that significantly influences conjugation efficiency inC. jejuni.IMPORTANCEConjugation is an important horizontal gene transfer mechanism contributing to the evolution of bacterial pathogenesis and antimicrobial resistance.Campylobacter jejuni, the leading foodborne bacterial organism, displays significant strain diversity due to horizontal gene transfer; however, the molecular components influencing conjugation efficiency inC. jejuniare still largely unknown. In this study, we developed a cotransformation strategy for comparative genomics analysis and successfully identified a restriction-modification enzyme that significantly influences conjugation efficiency inC. jejuni. The new cotransformation strategy developed in this study is also expected to be broadly applied in other naturally competent bacteria for functional comparative genomics research.

scholarly journals Interactions between the Prophage 919TP and Its Vibrio cholerae Host: Implications of gmd Mutation for Phage Resistance, Cell Auto-Aggregation, and Motility

Viruses ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (12) ◽  
pp. 2342
Author(s):  
Na Li ◽  
Yigang Zeng ◽  
Bijie Hu ◽  
Tongyu Zhu ◽  
Sine Lo Svenningsen ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Bacterial Pathogen ◽  
Genomic Analysis ◽  
Resistant Mutant ◽  
Resistance Mechanisms ◽  
Phage Resistance ◽  
Comparative Genomic ◽  
Lytic Phage ◽  
O Antigen ◽  
Trade Offs ◽  
Base Pair Deletion

Prophage 919TP is widely distributed among Vibrio cholera and is induced to produce free φ919TP phage particles. However, the interactions between prophage φ919TP, the induced phage particle, and its host remain unknown. In particular, phage resistance mechanisms and potential fitness trade-offs, resulting from phage resistance, are unresolved. In this study, we examined a prophage 919TP-deleted variant of V. cholerae and its interaction with a modified lytic variant of the induced prophage (φ919TP cI-). Specifically, the phage-resistant mutant was isolated by challenging a prophage-deleted variant with lytic phage φ919TP cI-. Further, the comparative genomic analysis of wild-type and φ919TP cI--resistant mutant predicted that phage φ919TP cI- selects for phage-resistant mutants harboring a mutation in key steps of lipopolysaccharide (LPS) O-antigen biosynthesis, causing a single-base-pair deletion in gene gmd. Our study showed that the gmd-mediated O-antigen defect can cause pleiotropic phenotypes, e.g., cell autoaggregation and reduced swarming motility, emphasizing the role of phage-driven diversification in V. cholerae. The developed approach assists in the identification of genetic determinants of host specificity and is used to explore the molecular mechanism underlying phage-host interactions. Our findings contribute to the understanding of prophage-facilitated horizontal gene transfer and emphasize the potential for developing new strategies to optimize the use of phages in bacterial pathogen control.

scholarly journals Playing the Whack-A-Mole Game: ERK5 Activation Emerges Among the Resistance Mechanisms to RAF-MEK1/2-ERK1/2- Targeted Therapy

2021 ◽  
Vol 9 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alessandro Tubita ◽  
Ignazia Tusa ◽  
Elisabetta Rovida
Keyword(s):  
Tyrosine Kinases ◽  
Resistance Mechanism ◽  
Resistance Mechanisms ◽  
Mitogen Activated Protein Kinase ◽  
Cancer Therapies ◽  
New Era ◽  
Mitogen Activated Protein ◽  
The Impact ◽  
The Ideal

Molecularly tailored therapies have opened a new era, chronic myeloid leukemia being the ideal example, in the treatment of cancer. However, available therapeutic options are still unsatisfactory in many types of cancer, and often fail due to the occurrence of resistance mechanisms. With regard to small-molecule compounds targeting the components of the Mitogen-Activated Protein Kinase (MAPK) cascade RAF-MEK1/2-ERK1/2, these drugs may result ineffective as a consequence of the activation of compensatory pro-survival/proliferative signals, including receptor tyrosine kinases, PI3K, as well as other components of the MAPK family such as TPL2/COT. The MAPK ERK5 has been identified as a key signaling molecule in the biology of several types of cancer. In this review, we report pieces of evidence regarding the activation of the MEK5-ERK5 pathway as a resistance mechanism to RAF-MEK1/2-ERK1/2 inhibitors. We also highlight the known and possible mechanisms underlying the cross-talks between the ERK1/2 and the ERK5 pathways, the characterization of which is of great importance to maximize, in the future, the impact of RAF-MEK1/2-ERK1/2 targeting. Finally, we emphasize the need of developing additional therapeutically relevant MEK5-ERK5 inhibitors to be used for combined treatments, thus preventing the onset of resistance to cancer therapies relying on RAF-MEK1/2-ERK1/2 inhibitors.

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